The Fiat Group has recorded its 13th successive quarterly profit boost, with Fiat car sales climbing in Europe against the market trend, a record quarter for commercial vehicles and sales increases for Fiat agricultural and construction equipment combining to boost Fiat profits by 28.7 per cent while the car division lifted its profit gain by 53 per cent.

Leading the growth are two Fiat vehicles one of which has recently arrived in New Zealand and the other set for a local launch in a matter of months. The Fiat 500, for which in New Zealand, as around the world, demand outstrips supply, and the soon-to-arrive new Fiat Scudo van, which is a major player in all the markets in which it is sold, have both made a major contribution to the success of Fiat, along with the Bravo and Punto.

Fiat Group revenues rose nearly 10% to €15 billion, with all businesses contributing to the increase, despite the uneven trading conditions in some key regions.

Continued success of new and existing models enabled Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) to achieve growth, with a total of 563,600 units delivered during the quarter (+4.1% over Q1 2007).

Although overall demand in Western Europe was down, FGA reported notable year-over-year increases in Germany (+15%) and France (+27%), in addition to experiencing a record quarter in Brazil (+35%).

Trucks and Commercial Vehicles had record first quarter revenues, with the number of vehicles delivered up 21% over prior year. 2007 new product launches ensured that the Sector could meet increased demand in the heavy vehicle range.

Automobiles:
For Q1 2008, the Automobile businesses had revenues of €7.4 billion, an increase of 8.8% over the first quarter of 2007. In particular, Fiat Group Automobiles closed the quarter with revenues of €6.8 billion, up 8.4% over the same period in 2007 due to higher sales volumes.

Fiat Group Automobiles delivered a total of 563,600 units in Q1 2008, up 4.1% year-on-year. Deliveries were down in Italy (-11.7%), while Fiat out performed against the market trend in the rest of Western Europe, with significant increases in both France (+27.3%) and Germany (+15.3%). Deliveries decreased in Spain (-31%) – where demand was extremely weak - as well as in Britain (-3.6%).

Courtesy: Fiat Group, New Zealand

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Posted by Jigar Gondalia on 1 May, 2008 4:38:29 PM IST #